Come for the food, stay for the love

Moriches Bay Deli is not only a great place to buy sandwiches like The Wrangler, featuring hot roast beef, cheddar cheese, and tangy barbecue sauce—on a roll, of course. It’s also a great place to meet friends and be part of the community. 

In fact, that’s Roseann Gencarelli’s favorite part of owning the deli, where joking around is a sign of affection. 

“When you have fun, you can bust chops with your customers, and they can bust them back.” 

One such customer is Paul Sweeney, a lifelong resident of East Moriches and 26-year customer of Gencarelli’s (the deli’s been around for that long as of July 2022.) While Sweeney said he’s a fan of all the deli’s baked items, one item keeps him coming back. 

“I like Ro’s egg sandwiches,” he said. 

On a recent weekday morning, this reporter observed several egg sandwiches being made, but Gencarelli is most proud of another menu item: the Spooky Spider. In fact, as per the T-shirts, the deli is “home to the Spooky Spider.” Picture a rustic baguette filled with honey maple turkey, crispy bacon, melted Swiss cheese, lettuce, and tomato, all drizzled with more of that tangy barbecue sauce. 

In addition to customers like Sweeney, the deli is also an institution for neighborhood children to come in for a bite before and after class. It makes sense, as the deli is surrounded by schools, with the East Moriches Middle School and elementary school down the street. 

“The kids come here every day,” said Gencarelli of her youngest customers. 

For Gencarelli, who is also president of Seatuck Grove Rotary and a member of the Moriches Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, the neighborhood children remind her of what Moriches is all about. 

“They show respect. The other thing you like about this town is that the children—and I’m talking fifth through eighth graders—show respect. They come in, they order their food, they eat, and then they clean up after themselves. You don’t find that everywhere,” she said. 

Some things have changed over the 26 years Gencarelli has served her customers at the deli. One of them is that she’s now running the business alone. Her former business partner, Mary Ellen, is no longer involved in day-to-day operations. 

“It’s strange, after 26 years, but she’ll still help me,” said Gencarelli. 

For example, she still makes the deli’s famous signature M.E.G.’s classic vinaigrette dressing, a secret recipe. (M.E.G.’s stands for Mary Ellen Gerhard). She also comes in to make the rice pudding.

But many things have stayed the same, like the old community-minded vibes of East Moriches. Reliable in their hours, the deli is open from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for Sunday, when they close at 4 p.m. They are closed on Christmas only.